Soitec – Enabling the FDSOI Revolution

Soitec – Enabling the FDSOI Revolution
by Scotten Jones on 10-18-2016 at 12:00 pm

Recently I published two blogs on Fully Depleted Silicon On Insulator (FDSOI) and the potential the technology shows for a variety of low power and wireless applications. In order to produce FDSOI devices, the device layer has to be thin enough to ensure the device is fully depleted and ideally the buried oxide has to be thin enough… Read More


Of distant dreams and violent delights

Of distant dreams and violent delights
by Don Dingee on 10-05-2016 at 4:00 pm

Another report today of a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 catching fire, this time an allegedly refurbished unit, takes us back to the turning point in Samsung mobile phone history. It’s not the first time a defective Samsung phone – or a pile of thousands of them – has been on fire.

Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-Hee issued a powerful edict to his mobile… Read More


Intel Foundry Rounds Out IP Lineup With ARM at IDF 2016

Intel Foundry Rounds Out IP Lineup With ARM at IDF 2016
by Patrick Moorhead on 09-28-2016 at 12:00 pm

There are always debates on who does what best in the semiconductor industry, but most agree that Intel is the best in process and transistor technology. This leadership has served the company extremely well over the last few decades and allowed them to reach a position of dominance in the PC and server semiconductor markets. In … Read More


The Status and Future of FDSOI

The Status and Future of FDSOI
by Scotten Jones on 09-26-2016 at 12:00 pm

I recently took a look at the current status and future direction of FinFET based logic processes in my Leading Edge Logic Landscape blog. I thought it would be interesting to take a similar look at FDSOI and to compare and contrast the two processes. My Leading Edge Logic Landscape blog is available here.… Read More


The 2016 Leading Edge Semiconductor Landscape

The 2016 Leading Edge Semiconductor Landscape
by Scotten Jones on 09-03-2016 at 7:00 am

The leading edge semiconductor logic landscape has in recent years collapsed to just four companies. The following is a summary of what is currently known about each company’s plans and how they compare. ASML has analyzed many logic nodes and developed a formula that normalizes processes to a “standard node”.… Read More


Semiconductors negative in 2016, positive in 2017

Semiconductors negative in 2016, positive in 2017
by Bill Jewell on 08-17-2016 at 12:00 pm

Note: the table and text below have been revised from an earlier post to correct the numbers for STMicroelectronics.

Semiconductor companies posted a wide range of results in 2nd quarter 2016. Intel, Micron Technology and Renesas Electronics all had declines in revenue in 2Q 2016 versus 1Q 2016. Samsung Semiconductor, Qualcomm… Read More


SEMICON West – Leti FDSOI and IOT, status and roadmap

SEMICON West – Leti FDSOI and IOT, status and roadmap
by Scotten Jones on 07-28-2016 at 7:00 am

On Tuesday, July 12th at SEMICON West I had an opportunity to sit down with Marie Semeria, the CEO of Leti and discuss the status and future of FDSOI. Leti pioneered FDSOI 15 years ago and has been the leading FDSOI research ever since.

Two years ago Leti and ST Micro demonstrated products on 28nm that are cost competitive with bulk technology.… Read More


More Details on the Smartphone and Wearables Market

More Details on the Smartphone and Wearables Market
by Daniel Nenni on 07-26-2016 at 4:00 pm

The Linley Mobile Conference opened today with a nice keynote overview of the mobile market evolution. In the media I see a lot of doom and gloom articles about smartphones and wearables but if you look at it closely you will see a natural growth curve evolving.

The mobile semiconductor market is evolving as vendors split their focusRead More


Samsung Embraces Both Public And Private Cloud With Joyent Acquisition

Samsung Embraces Both Public And Private Cloud With Joyent Acquisition
by Patrick Moorhead on 07-20-2016 at 12:00 pm

As the mobile industry growth slows and looks to growth in IoT, companies like Samsung Electronics are looking for ways to initiate change or adapt to the new climate around them. One of the ways mobile companies are going to be profitable in the future is through offering, building and sometimes hosting those services beyond just… Read More


Galaxy S7 and the Ongoing Charging Guessing Game

Galaxy S7 and the Ongoing Charging Guessing Game
by Bernard Murphy on 07-12-2016 at 7:00 am

In the back-and-forth competition between Samsung and Apple, the Galaxy S7 certainly seems to have notched a few wins over the iPhone 6S. Most reviewers feel the Samsung camera is noticeably superior and the overall look and feel is on a par with or better than the Apple product. I want to focus on just one area where Samsung differs… Read More